


One More Regret

by theimpossiblepossiblegirl



Series: 52 Short Stories in 52 Weeks [41]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Mentions of Death, Not A Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-08-23 16:42:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8334856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theimpossiblepossiblegirl/pseuds/theimpossiblepossiblegirl
Summary: After Rose finally tries to give it a proper go with the Meta-crisis, she realizes not everyone changes.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Week Forty-One: A romance that ends in tragedy.

“What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?” The Doctor questioned as he leaned against her desk. He had been waiting in her office since their meeting ended twenty minutes ago, a hopeful expression on his face.

“What are you on?” Rose furrowed her brow as she closed the door behind her, an exhausted look on her face. “It’s not even Halloween.”

Since coming back to Pete’s world, he had given her some space. As soon as they were back in London, she had gone to her flat and he had stayed with Pete and Jackie. Despite his confession on the beach, she still needed time. She needed to realize that he was still the Doctor.

At least that’s what she told him.

He had accepted it.

Mostly.

“I know. But don’t these things get planned months in advance? I want you to be my date.”

She walked over to him and pressed a gentle kiss against his cheek. “I’d like that, Doctor.” She pulled back slightly and gently wiped her lipstick from his cheek. “Do you want to come over tonight? We can get take away and watch telly.”

Six months. They had been in the same universe for six months and he still was unable to make his intentions clear to her. No, the Meta-crisis had not been planned, but this was the only way he would ever be able to live the life she wanted, she deserved. He could see she was waiting for him to leave, like the other Doctor. But that wasn’t him. If only he could find a way to show her that.

“Sure. I’ll come back at half five to collect you.” He leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead before walking away from her desk, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Sparing her one more glance, he opened the door and walked back towards his office.

Rose let out a breath and moved around her desk to sit in her chair. She knew with every longing glance, every fist he made, and every kind gesture he made that he was aching to kiss her, touch her, and hold her. But she had needed to be certain that he wasn’t going to leave. She had asked around the office, even had Jake and Pete ask around, and no one commented that he was doing anything suspicious. Maybe it was finally time to lower the walls she built around her heart and open herself up to him.

True to his word, the Doctor was back at her office door at half five to collect her. This would be an early night to her, but a welcome early night. Grabbing her bag and coat she gave him a dazzling smile as she met him by the door. He took her coat from her and helped her to put it on before holding his hand out to her. He was relieved when she slipped her own into his and squeezed it gently.

“You look like you’re ready to drop.” He murmured as they walked towards the lifts.

“It’s been a long week.” She admitted as she pressed the down button.

“Let’s not think about work tonight. Tonight will be about us.”

“I like the sound of that.”

They picked up Chinese on their way to Rose’s flat and the only time her hand left his was when they walked into her flat. He wasn’t sure when the atmosphere surrounding them changed, but it was a welcome change. She wasn’t completely standoffish towards him, but she did keep him at a distance. Which he understood. At first he didn’t want to be stuck in another universe with no way of traveling, but the more he let it fester, the more he realized it wasn’t too terrible.

“I’m going to go change. Make yourself at home.” She told him softly before walking down the hall towards her bedroom. If tonight went well, maybe she would suggest to him that he could move into one of the spare bedrooms. What if that was moving too fast? Though, she did run off with him after knowing him for only a few hours.

“Stop overthinking this.” She told herself. “He loves you and you love him.” Steeling herself, she let out a breath and made her way into the kitchen. He was sitting down in one of the seats, food spread out on the table next to the plates. It was all quite domestic.

With their stomachs sated and the dishes cleaned up, Rose suggested they go into the living room and watch a film together. Five minutes into the film finds her cuddled into his side. It reminded him of the nights they spent on the TARDIS watching different types of films. Ones that wouldn’t be out for years and ones from different planets. He had been surprised to find out how many films would never be made in Pete’s World and how many new ones there were to discover.

“I’m sorry that I pushed you away.” Her words were quiet as she looked up at him.

“I understand, Rose. This wasn’t easy on either of us. I meant what I said. I love you.”

“I love you too, Doctor.” She pressed a kiss to his shoulder before laying her head against his arm.

He shifted around slightly and wrapped his arm around her, allowing her to rest against his chest. By the time the movie was over, they had both fallen asleep. Content smiles on both of their lips.

They lived in their happy bubble for two weeks before tragedy struck. The Doctor had been on a mission with his team, later joined in the field by Jake’s team. It should have been an easy one. Secure the aliens and bring them back to Torchwood. They had been a race that the Doctor had known to be destructive, which is why they wanted this to go as smoothly as possible.

It hadn’t.

Out of the fourteen members of Torchwood to go out to the scene, four came back. Gwen, Owen, Jake, and the Doctor. Both had been left injured and were immediately hospitalized upon their return to Torchwood. The aliens had been killed along with the other ten members of Torchwood. They had shut the office down for a week after that while Pete and Rose investigated.

It was times like these that she missed Mickey. He would have been able to help her make sense of all of this. When they had questioned Jake and the Doctor, their stories were jumbled. Jake had told them that the Doctor had provoked the aliens. Tried to get them to follow him, but they didn’t and that’s when he set off the detonator. But he only had enough time to warn everyone and run out.

He had promised her he was better, not as filled with rage has he had once been. When she told him what Jake said, he avoided eye contact.

“I just want to know if it was true, Doctor.” She had told him. “He warned me that you needed someone to look after you. Did you do this because I wasn’t there?”

“No.”

“We lost ten people today, Doctor. The Sea Devils lost six of their people too.” She looked at him, her eyes filling with tears. “People died, again, because of something you did.”

He winced as he turned his head to look at her. “They were going to kill us, Rose. I had no choice. I tried to save everyone, but I couldn’t. I tried to isolate the Sea Devils, but they wouldn’t leave.”

“You could have thought of something else!”

“There wasn’t any time!” He argued. “I miscalculated the detonator and thought our teams were behind us, but they weren’t. The Sea Devils captured them and sealed off the door.”

“You shouldn’t have provoked them.”

“Well, I did and I can’t go back in time and fix any of this because I’m stuck in this bloody universe without a TARDIS!” He yelled.

She gasped slightly and took a few steps back from him. “The proper Doctor wouldn’t have been like this. He would have figured out how to save everyone.”

“Well, you keep reminding me that I’m not the proper Doctor.” He told. “I guess you were right.” Not wanting to discuss this further, he turned his head and looked out of the window.

Trying not to cry, Rose gave him one last look before leaving the room. Now more than ever she was determined to get back to her proper universe and to the Doctor.

Hopefully this time she gets it right.

 


End file.
